The present invention relates to a push button for pressing on to a stud, particularly a weld stud, usually in order to secure some article to the receptor surface to which the stud is welded.
Weld studs have long been known for attachment to sheet metal structures such, for example, as motor vehicle bodies and may be formed with circumferential ridges, often in the form of a thread, to which fastening elements can be attached.
The fastening element may take the form of a nut or a push button which can be pushed on to the weld stud so that an article may be retained between the fastening element and the surface to which the weld stud is attached.
German specification DE 28 02 465 discloses a plastic push button designed as a flange nut with a smooth bore provided with three radial slots. The flexibility of the plastics material allows the push button to distort when pressed onto the stud so that it engages the stud firmly.
German specification DE 27 44 294 discloses a plastic anchoring element for trim strips and the like, which comprises an elongated basic body adapted to clip the trim strip thereon and an opening into which extend a number of resilient fingers directed at an angle. When the opening of the element is pressed over a stud welded to a car body, the fingers lock behind the head of the T-stud to secure the element in the stud where it can be used to mount the trim strip.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fastener which is particularly suitable for mounting trim strips and body panels on a motor vehicle body by means of weld studs such as the kind provided with peripheral ridges running around the stud like a thread. Such weld studs are commonly known as "Christmas tree studs" and are disclosed in German gebrauchsmuster specification G7925469.